Recently, I took the Certified Floodplain Managers (CFM), which is administered by the Association of State Floodplain Managers. Luckily, I passed! However, while studying for the exam, I found that, unlike the PE exam, there was not a lot of information available online about the CFM exam. For this reason, I decided to write the following blog post to share my experience studying for and taking the CFM exam.
Why become a CFM?
An older/more experienced engineer advised me to earn my CFM license about a year ago. After learning about the certification, I determined that this certification did make sense for someone with my background in floodplain modeling. Many coworkers who are also experienced in developing floodplain models for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have their CFM certification. The CFM certification demonstrates that you understand the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the regulations behind floodplain mapping. As engineers, it is important to understand that our clients (e.g., developers, homeowners, and municipalities) care about complying with required regulations much more than understanding hydraulics. The CFM certification shows that you understand how your work and expertise fit into the “big picture” of a floodplain management program.
About the CFM Exam
The CFM exam is a closed-book test that is comprised of 120 multiple-choice questions.
- Floodplain Mapping (20-25%)
- NFIP Regulatory Standards (20-25%)
- Regulatory Administrative Procedures (15-20%)
- Flood Insurance (10-15%)
- Flood Hazard Mitigation (10-15%)
- Natural and Beneficial Functions (10-15%)
- Overall Context of Floodplain Management (5-10%)
To pass the test, you have to answer at least 84 questions correctly in three hours. In my experience, three hours was plenty of time to answer all of the questions. Unlike the PE Exam, the CFM exam does not require working out math problems. However, part of the test does involve answering questions based on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and/or excerpts of a Flood Insurance Study (FIS).
Registering for the CFM Exam
Registering for the exam is a fairly simple process. Simply fill out the application package on the Association of State Floodplain Manager’s website and pay the exam fee. The fees are significantly less for members, so I recommend becoming an ASFPM member before registering for the exam.
The Association of State Floodplain Managers recommends that applicants have one of the following: a minimum of two years of experience in floodplain management, higher education in a field related to floodplain management, or have completed the four-day E273 Managing Floodplain Development Through the National Flood Insurance Program training course. There is also an NFIP 101 course available online that covers a lot of the same material.
Studying for the CFM Exam
I studied on my own rather than taking a course, and I ended up spending 30-40 hours studying for this exam. Although my background in floodplain mapping helped, there was a lot of material on the exam that was not technical in nature and did not directly align with my work. For this reason, I had to learn a significant amount of new information. Although, the material covered by the exam was not “difficult,” there was a large volume of information to go over while studying for the test. I used the following resources to study for the CFM exam.
FEMA 480 – Floodplain Management Requirements: A Study Guide and Desk Reference for Local Officials
FEMA 480 was the best resource for studying for the exam. ASFPM recommends starting here when studying for the CFM exam. The document is several hundred pages long and is broken down into 10 units. The size of the document can be a bit intimidating at first, but it is not so bad if you focus on one unit every day or two. Each unit contains 20 to 40 pages of reading. In addition, there are questions at the end of the study guide for each unit with a corresponding answer key. I felt that these questions helped me understand what to focus on most for the exam.
Pennsylvania Association of State Floodplain Managers
The Pennsylvania Association of State Floodplain Managers published some materials to help test takers prepare for the CFM Exam. These materials include slide decks, a mapping exercise, an elevation certificate exercise, and a practice exam. I found these resources to be very useful, especially the practice exam. I have included these resources in the Google Drive folder that is linked below.
YouTube Videos
I also found this YouTube playlist to be helpful.
Google Drive Link
I have compiled the study materials discussed above into a Google Drive folder that can be accessed here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11_vabdJAAnpxRcmBh-5vHp0qv51q-Qo_?usp=sharing
My Experience Taking the Exam
There are a couple of ways to take the CFM exam: 1) in-person at a test center, 2) online, and 3) at an in-person event such as a conference. I chose to take the exam online because this option offers the most flexibility. You have a year to take the exam after registering, and you can reschedule the exam multiple times. I took my exam early in the morning (6:20 am) so I could finish before beginning the work day. The exam is proctored live. This means someone is watching you on the camera as you take the exam. Prior to beginning the exam itself, there is a check-in process where the proctor verifies your ID and checks your work environment. Because my camera is attached to my laptop, I had to physically move my laptop around my office to show the proctor. During the exam, there were several times that the proctor interrupted me to say that my head was too far out of the center of the camera. Despite these annoyances/irritations, I found the flexibility of taking the exam online worked best for me because I did not have to use my PTO for the exam.
I finished my exam in about 90 minutes. After I finished the exam, I simply submitted my answers and told the proctor I was finished on chat. The closeout process was fairly quick.
Exam Results
Because I took the exam online, I received my exam results within 2-3 hours of completing the exam. The exam results were sent to me via email, and I needed the exam password given before the beginning of the test to access the results. The exam results indicated whether you pass the exam, how many answers you answered correctly, and a breakdown of the number of questions you answered correctly in each category (e.g., Floodplain Mapping, NFIP Regulatory Standards, Regulatory Administrative Procedures, Flood Insurance, Flood Hazard Mitigation, Natural and Beneficial Functions, and Overall Context of Floodplain Management). A screenshot of my results is shown below.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, becoming a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) was a good experience. It gave me the opportunity and motivation to learn about the NFIP and regulatory background behind my work in floodplain mapping which has made me a more well-rounded engineer. The CFM certification is renewed biennially (every two years) and requires 16 continuing education units (CEUs). ASFPM will send you an email reminder and instructions about earning CEUs one year prior to the renewal date. I plan to continue maintaining the certification as long as I work in the area of floodplain mapping. I hope this blog post was useful, and I wish you the best in your studying!